Circulitr – Privacy Policy
Circulitr is operated by Amrita Sharma, an individual based in Goa, India, who decides how your personal data is used (the “data fiduciary” under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023). This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. It applies to circulitr.web.app and any other circulitr domain.
1. What we collect and why
We collect only what circulitr needs to work. We do not sell your data or use it for third-party advertising.
| Data | Why we need it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email, password (stored hashed) | Create and secure your account; send verification and service emails | You |
| Profile photo | Show other readers who you are | You (optional) |
| Precise location (latitude and longitude) | Show books and readers near you | Your device, with your permission |
| Books you list, borrow or lend; loan history | Run the lending features and Lits | You |
| Reviews, ratings, chat messages | Let readers talk and share opinions | You |
| Reports and blocks | Keep the community safe | You |
| Technical logs (IP address, browser, timestamps, errors) | Security, debugging, preventing abuse | Automatically |
We process this data on the basis of your consent, given when you sign up and when you grant location access, and to provide the service you asked for. You can withdraw consent at any time (see section 5); some features will then stop working.
2. Your location
We store your precise location (latitude and longitude) so we can find books and readers within your chosen radius.
- Other users never see your exact location. They see only an approximate distance, such as “~4 km away”.
- You decide where to meet when lending or borrowing; your address is never shared by circulitr.
- You can update your location, or turn off location access in your browser settings. Nearby features will then not work.
3. Who we share data with
Other circulitr users see your name, profile photo, listings, reviews, ratings and approximate distance. Chat messages are visible only to the people in that conversation.
Service providers process data on our behalf, only to run circulitr:
| Provider | What it does | Where data is stored |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud (Cloud Run, Cloud SQL, Cloud Storage) | Hosts the app, database and photos | Mumbai, India |
| Google Firebase Hosting | Serves the website | Global content network |
| Resend | Sends account and notification emails | United States [confirm the region in your Resend dashboard] |
| Google Books API | Looks up book details and covers; receives only search terms, not your personal data |
Some providers may process data outside India. We choose providers with strong security safeguards, and we do not transfer data to any country the Government of India restricts.
Legal reasons: we may disclose data if required by Indian law, a court order, or a lawful request from authorities, or to protect someone’s safety.
We do not sell personal data.
4. How long we keep data
- While your account is active, we keep the data needed to run it.
- When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days. Reviews may remain in anonymised form, without your name or photo.
- Inactive accounts: if you have not used circulitr for 3 years, we will email you and then delete the account if you don’t respond.
- Backups and logs are kept for a limited period (up to 1 year for security logs) and then deleted.
- We may keep specific records longer when the law requires it, or to resolve a dispute or complaint.
5. Your rights
Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you can:
- Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how we use it.
- Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data. Most of it you can edit in the app directly.
- Erase your data, by deleting your account in the app or writing to us.
- Withdraw consent at any time. This doesn’t affect processing done before you withdrew, but circulitr may no longer be usable.
- Nominate someone to exercise these rights for you in case of death or incapacity.
- Raise a grievance with us (section 6), and if not satisfied, complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
To use any of these rights, write to [email protected]. We’ll respond within 30 days.
6. Cookies and browser storage
Circulitr uses no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies.
To keep you logged in, the app stores your login token, your reader ID and basic account details (including your email) in your browser’s local storage. This stays on your device and is used only to make circulitr work. Logging out removes it, and you can also clear it through your browser settings, which logs you out.
7. Security, children, changes and contact
- Security: data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS), passwords are stored hashed, and access to the database is restricted. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your personal data, we will notify you and the Data Protection Board of India as the law requires.
- Children: circulitr is only for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has an account, tell us and we will delete it.
- Changes: we’ll notify you in the app or by email before significant changes to this policy take effect.
- Grievance Officer and contact: Amrita Sharma, [email protected], Goa, India. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days.
